


Weather the Storm

by Amorfati32



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 13:04:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15389364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amorfati32/pseuds/Amorfati32
Summary: Mulder comforts Scully during a thunderstorm.





	Weather the Storm

Mulder comes awake suddenly, inhaling sharply as he tries to get his bearings. He’s in his motel room, he suddenly remembers, he and Scully are in Maine investigating a supposed haunting. Scully is in the motel room next door, she’s fine -

As he hears his partner through the motel’s paper thin walls, Mulder suddenly realizes why he woke up with such a start. 

“No! Get away from me! Don’t take me!”

In an instant Mulder is kicking back the comforter and scrambling out of bed, rushing over to flick on the light so he can retrieve his gun. He’s vaguely aware of a thunderstorm raging outside, but right now all he cares about is getting to his partner before it’s too late. She sounds petrified. They’ve slept in connecting rooms for a while now and Scully rarely has nightmares. He knows this is more than a bad dream - she’s in danger, and if he’s not quick Mulder is going to lose his partner for the second time in less than six months. And while he might not have been there when Duane Barry abducted her a few months ago, he’s damned if he’s going to let her be taken again.

With his gun at the ready, Mulder tries to open the connecting door, biting back a cuss word when he remembers Scully locking it earlier that evening. Thankfully it’s an old motel, the interior cheap and dated, and with a bit of brute force which will result in him needing to book a physio appointment sooner rather than later, Mulder breaks open the door. He freezes instantly when he discovers Scully’s room in darkness, and he tries to make out exactly where his partner is. He locates the light switch and turns it on ready to shoot at Scully’s attacker, but there’s no one there, and for a split second he wonders if he’s dreaming himself. But then he hears it, a whimper by Scully’s bedside, and he knows it’s no dream at all. Without lowering his fun, he races around the bed and his heart breaks as he does so. 

Scully is sitting on the floor with her back against the bed, her hands over her ears as she presses her head firmly against her knees. She’s shaking uncontrollably as Mulder approaches, and when he hears her sob he quickly lowers his weapon, placing it on her bedside table. 

“Scully?” He speaks slowly and softly, not wanting to scare her even further. “Scully it’s me, it’s Mulder.”

“They’ve come to take me,” she says.

“Who?”

Maybe it is a nightmare she’s having, he thinks. Maybe she’s not fully awake. Then suddenly there’s a flash of lightning followed by a crash of thunder and she screams, pressing against her ears so hard that Mulder’s convinced she must be hurting herself. It’s then he realizes she’s not dreaming at all. She’s having flashbacks. 

“Don’t let them take me!”

Dropping to his knees next to her, Mulder reaches out to place a reassuring hand on her knee. “No one’s going to take you.”

“The lights, they’re back.”

“It’s just lightning Scully. There’s a storm outside.” He tries to catch his breath. “You’re safe, you’re in a motel room in Maine, but you’re safe I promise you.” He tells her again, aware that at that very moment Scully’s not quite sure what to believe. “You’re safe.”

Slowly Scully lowers her hands and lifts her head up. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes red from crying and Mulder wants nothing more than to take her into his arms, but he doesn’t want to scare her further. “Mulder?”

He nods. “I’m here. It’s just a storm Scully. It’s the mother of all storms.”

Scully presses a hand to her mouth as she tries to stifle a sob. “Oh god,” he hears her utter as fresh tears begin to fall. She immediately swipes them away, suddenly embarrassed now that she’s fully awake. “I’m sorry.”

She gets to her feet, surprising Mulder with just how quickly she’s trying to compose herself. “I must have been dreaming,” she explains unconvincingly. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“Scully.” Mulder stands, watching as she moves over to the connecting door and knows exactly what she’s about to do. She’s going to shut him out.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I know that Mulder, it was just a bad dream.”

He shakes his head. “It was more than that and you know it.” Scully looks down towards the floor, busying herself by picking off a piece of lint from her pajama pants. “How long has it been happening.”

“What?”

“The flashbacks.”

She looks up, her expression fearful. As her eyes cloud with tears Mulder continues. “Is it just when there’s a storm out or do they happen at other times?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” comes the quiet response. “Listen Muldr, it’s late –”

“There was a bright light the night Samantha was taken,” he says, ignoring her protests. “It lit up the room and blinded me, rooting me to the spot. Because of that light I couldn’t move, I couldn’t save her. From that moment, whenever I saw bright or flashing lights I’d freeze, if someone turned on a light without telling me I would freak out, lightning would have me scrambling underneath the covers, trying to shut it out. I’d panic, thinking that someone else would be taken, my dad, my mom. I was a wreck. I kept seeing Samantha in front of me, calling for me, and there was nothing I could do to help her. It wasn’t until I saw a therapist that I realized these flashbacks were normal, they were a part of dealing with trauma.” He waits, not wanting to push her too far. Scully’s quiet though, processing his words, and he has no idea if she’s about to break down or kick him out. She does neither.

“When I see the light I’m back in that room,” she whispers. Mulder wants to ask her more about the room, but he doesn’t want to interrupt, doesn’t want her to close up again. “I’m strapped to a trolley and I can’t move. I wake up and as I do I hear a whirring noise. When I look up, there’s a drill coming right for me…” She lets out a shaky breath, her hands suddenly moving to her stomach. “…Other times there’s a tube attached to my stomach and it’s inflating me. I feel like I’m pregnant…” As a sob escapes Scully shakes her head. She doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. Mulder moves towards her, reaching out to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. As he does so Scully steps in closer, suddenly wrapping her arms around his waist as she cries. “Tell me how to stop it Mulder,” she says, her tears soaking through his shirt. He holds her, rubbing her back, wishing he could somehow take away her pain. He knows he’s to blame for this – it’s her connection to him that got her abducted in the first place. He can’t turn back time, but he can help her through this.

“You’ve got to talk about it Scully,” he replies softly. “You can’t keep it bottled up, it’s a lot for one person to take in.”

“A therapist is going to think I’m crazy.”

He smiles sadly. “Welcome to my world.” He feels her laugh against him. “There’s the Bureau therapist,” he continues. “Or if you don’t feel comfortable telling a stranger, I’m here. I’m always around to listen Scully, and I certainly won’t think you’re crazy.”

“Thank you,” is all she says in reply. He doesn’t know if she’ll take him up on the offer, but he wants her to know he means it.

Suddenly out of the corner of his eye Mulder sees another flash of lightning through the too-thin curtains. Scully must see it too, because she tenses in his arms. “It’s okay,” he tells her, holding her towards him. “It’s just a storm, you’re safe.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing.” There’s another rumble of thunder, less intense this time. “It sounds like the storm is moving away.”

“Good.” Scully pulls back, looking up at him with sad eyes. Mulder brings a hand up to brush away her tears.

“Are you okay?”

She nods.

“I don’t know exactly what you’re going through, but I’ve experienced flashbacks. I’m a pro at them. If you ever need company during a storm I’m your guy.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me Scully.” Looking on as she steps back out of her grasp, Mulder realizes this is his cue for him to leave. He can take a hint. “It’s late,” he says, repeating her earlier words.

“Yeah.”

“Are you going to be okay?” He knows that she’s not – she’d normally be protesting by now, leading him out of the door, but right now she seems hesitant for him to leave. There’s another flash of lightning and she startles, looking towards the window. “We can leave the door open tonight,” he suggests, but Scully doesn’t seem too reassured. “Or, if you wanted some company I could sleep in here.” Scully’s motel room is a mirror image to his. There’s a chair in the corner and minimal carpet space, but if she needs him, he’ll find a place to sleep.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know, but if you want me to I can.”

“This is not what normal colleagues do Mulder.”

“We’re not normal colleagues.” They’ve already been through more than most co-workers have in their lifetimes. “Besides, I don’t know about you Scully, but I’m here to sleep.” It’s a joke of course, and thankfully Scully rolls her eyes. She glances towards the bed and then back at him. “Thank you.”

“Thank me in the morning, it’ll help my ego.”

“I don’t think your ego needs any help.”

Mulder grins as he pads over towards the door and enters his bedroom. Scully calls out from behind him. “Where are you going?”

“I was going to get my comforter.”

“Are you cold?”

He turns to see his partner standing by the bed. She points down to her own comforter. “Isn’t one enough?”

*Okay* he thinks to himself. Maybe he wouldn’t be sleeping on the floor. He quickly grabs an extra pillow from his bed, just in case, then kills the light and heads back into Scully’s room. He waits for her to get into bed first, not wanting to take up her side of the bed – if she has a side that is – and then throws the pillow down. She’s snuggled beneath the comforter, looking over at him, still a little fearful.

“Do you want to keep the light on?” he asks. On any other day he’d make light of his question, but he knows that tonight it’s no laughing matter.

She shakes her head. “I’ll be fine.” She doesn’t sound too sure, but Mulder walks back over to the light, switches it off and then makes his way cautiously back to the bed, relieved when he makes it back without any injury. Moments later there’s another flash of lightning, and he hears his partner whimper next to him. “You’re okay,” he repeats, shifting onto his side and wrapping his arms around her. She comes willingly, and Mulder gravitates onto his back, Scully settling her head in the crook of his neck. She’s still shaking, taking deep steady breaths, but as Mulder begins to talk to her, to reassure her, she calms. By the time the storm is over she’s fast asleep, still wrapped in Mulder’s arms. When barely an hour later, the storm returns, they’ve both dead to the world and this time sleep through it.


End file.
